Aircraft must function in all weather environments. Many aircraft experience electromagnetic threats produced in such environments, such as lightning strikes, electrostatic charge buildup, and precipitation static. These electrostatic events can cause severe and unexpected degradation to aircraft and hazards to crew and passengers.
Many traditional aircraft designs, particularly those having metallic transport elements in combination with aluminum wing skins, include the proper electrical architecture to mitigate ignition hazards associated with a lightning strike or electrostatic charge buildup due to the identical electrical potential between the two materials.
As aircraft design has transitioned to composite wing designs, the composite materials have created a difference in the aircraft ground potential and that of associated aircraft systems. Addressing these differences in ground potential through various designs has resulted in additional complexity and weight to the aircraft design. Thus, it is desirable to develop light-weight, electrostatic and lightning compatible transport elements that are able to eliminate the differences in ground potential without adding weight or complexity to the aircraft design.